1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus of a piezoelectric type and, more particularly, a recording head detachably mounted on a scanning carriage.
2. Description of Related Art
Ink jet recording apparatuses record on a recording medium, such as a sheet of paper, by ejecting droplets of ink thereon from the nozzles in a recording head based on input signals. In such an ink jet recording apparatus, ink is conveyed from an ink supply source, such as an ink tank, which is fixed external to a scanning carriage where the recording head is mounted, to the recording head via a supply tube.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,529, four tubes, each connected to an ink supply cartridge, are in fluid connection with a rubber septum for each of the four stalls in a carriage. A hollow needle, formed as part of each print cartridge, is inserted through the rubber septum upon pushing the print cartridge into its associated stall within the carriage so that a fluid communication path exists between a particular ink supply cartridge and a particular print cartridge for providing a supply of ink to the print cartridge. A plastic conduit leads from the needle to the ink chamber via the hole. Ink is provided to the carriage by tubes which connect to a plastic manifold. A septum elbow routes ink from the manifold to the septum and supports the septum. The septum is affixed to the elbow using a crimp cap.
According to the above structure, however, the ink path becomes long and complicated, and the cost of manufacturing increases. This path also requires an arrangement so as to increase the height of the print cartridge, thereby increasing the recording head unit, as a whole, in size.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-218822, a recording head is arranged in a carriage and a plurality of sub-tanks, corresponding to the respective colors of inks, are housed in the respective housing chambers of a recording head housing. The shaft of the carriage is inserted into the insert holes of the arms projected from the sub-tanks and, when levers are picked to revolve the sub-tanks, only the sub-tanks are raised to be perfectly separated from a recording head and, therefore, only the recording head can be replaced.
According to the above structure, the recording head is replaced after the sub-tanks are removed from the carriage.
What is needed is an improved ink jet recording apparatus where separation of a recording head from a scanning carriage is easy and the head is compact in size.
The invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus that facilitates the connection and disconnection of a recording head with respect to a scanning carriage and enables a compact size of the recording head and the scanning carriage.
In one exemplary aspect of the invention, the ink jet recording apparatus may include a scanning carriage that is movable in a direction perpendicular to a feeding direction of a recording medium; a recording head with nozzles that is detachably mounted to the scanning carriage; an ink supply source that is provided outside the scanning carriage and supplies ink to the recording head via a supply tube; a joint member that is provided in the scanning carriage and connected to the supply tube of the ink supply source; an ink inlet that is provided in the recording head; an ink outlet that is provided in the joint member; and an engaging device that fixes the recording head to the scanning carriage. The recording head is detachable from the scanning carriage in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which ink is ejected from the nozzles with respect to the recording medium, and the ink inlet is detachable from the ink outlet along the direction where the recording head is detachable from the scanning carriage.
As the ink inlet and the ink outlet are in contact with each other along the direction where the recording head is detachable from the scanning carriage, there is no need to increase the height dimension of the recording head (the height dimension along the direction where ink is ejected from the nozzles). As a result, the recording head can be designed compactly in size.
In another exemplary aspect of the invention, the ink jet recording head apparatus may include a scanning carriage that is movable in a direction perpendicular to a feeding direction of a recording medium; a recording head with nozzles that is detachably mounted to the scanning carriage; an ink supply source that is provided outside the scanning carriage and supplies ink to the recording head via a supply tube; a flat cable that transmits a drive signal to the recording head from outside of the scanning carriage; a joint member that is provided in the scanning carriage and connected to the supply tube of the ink supply source; an ink inlet that is provided in the recording head; an ink outlet that is provided to the joint member; a control circuit board that is provided to the recording head; and a connector that is provided in the recording head and detachably connected to the flat cable when the scanning carriage and the recording head are connected.
The flat cable can be removed at the connector provided in the recording head when the scanning carriage and the recording head are connected. Therefore, the flat cable can be readily connected and disconnected during a maintenance operation such as a replacement of the recording head as compared with a conventional flat cable.